Black background

[Wylie]

I post photos on Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/wylieyoung/) and one of the groups I am in is for flowers with jet black backgrounds. Since a lot of the bulbs I grow are in pots, this can be easy to arrange the pot and a black backdrop. Others require a little work, but it really highlights the flower. These are some of the bulbs in bulb now.

[mrhomick]

what material do you use for the black background, may I ask?

[Rick R.]

Sometimes you can cheat to get a black background when there isn't any.  Use a flash when all background as far away, or take a photo with the subject in bright sun with the background in the shade.  Like this one.  A little photoshopping, and the background could be completely black.

[Wylie]

For these I used the insert from an Ikea shelving unit. It is 3 sided, 12" flat black. Give it a little angle so there is no shine from the sun. It is mobile and easy to arrange in the back. Also, if the flower is in a pot, I use stairs to position them. I tried using GIMP to edit photos, but it is way too hard with no one around to explain how to do things, so I have to get inventive.